Some Nepali Advice on Changing the World

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Social customs in South Asia can be baffling. When I arrived here to Kathmandu a couple of nights ago I strolled into the lobby of the Siesta guesthouse and after chatting for a few minutes I asked for my room key. This request was met with admonitions to "sit down. You take rest. You take tea? Nepali tea?"

"Taking tea"is a huge part of Nepali daily life. No social interaction or business transaction can occur without hot steaming cups of masala chai, a delicious blend of milk, black tea, sugar, cinnamon and cloves. It tastes like magic and Christmas and I can literally drink pots of it each day. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by hotel staff and trekking guides, all of us taking tea and chatting. For all intents and purposes, my room key was a thousand miles away.

Paul stood out, but not by stature. He stands a mere 4 foot 10, but he makes up for this in charisma.  A member of the Gurkha caste, he hails from a small village at 3500 metres, but has made a life for himself both in Kathmandu and in Melbourne. He lives in Australia for half the year, where he owns an adventure travel company that arranges trekking trips to Nepal. After we talked for about an hour he offered to take me out for beers in Thamel, and I gladly obliged.  

Over an Everest beer (for me) a banana lassi (for him) and some chili chicken (the favourite Nepali non-veg snack) we talked about meditation, volunteering and cultural differences. I was struck with awe at all that Paul has been able to achieve in international business, despite his parochial childhood high in the Himalayas. He started as a porter at the age of 14, yet he managed to escape the fate of most crippling fate of career sherpas. He learned to speak English and became a guide, and he has summitted Everest twice. Twice!  

After guiding professionally he founded a small trekking company based in Kathmandu and as the word of mouth spread and his booking increased he decided that in order to take his business to the next level he needed to go international. He knew that the big money - the big mark ups - come when people book their treks from the West, and so he moved to Australia, a country in which adventure travel is a national obsession. Now he is the CEO and Guide Director of Discovery World Trekking,  a company that has rave reviews and a swish Docklands office.

"When I was first in Melbourne, I worked in a kitchen. I started dishwashing, but I took every extra shift and worked extra hard, and they promoted me to line cook. Then I was promoted to chef, and then I worked in some of the best kitchens in the city. I always want to be the best at everything I do." I clinked my glass to his. 

"Amen!" I hollered. 

"Pyunu Hos!" He exclaimed in return. (*please drink)

Paul told me that in order to be successful, everyone needs three things: planning, hard work and dreams.

"If you have big dreams and good planning, but no hard work? No success. If you have lots of plans and are a strong worker, but no dreams? Nothing happens. Tons of work and lots of dreams, but no plans? Nope. I need all three to be a success."

And he is a success, by anyone's standards. Paul is 29. He employs his siblings. He has offices in two countries. He has been able to fly his parents to visit him in Melbourne - they don't speak a word of English (or even Nepali!), they had no idea how to use a fork or knife and car rides gave them motion sickness. But none of this mattered to them - they positively beamed with pride. Despite her culture shock, Paul said his mother wept with joy at what he has been able to accomplish at such a young age.

I was humbled by Paul's story. I come from such an advantaged country, with resources and grants and Western privilege galore, and sometimes I forget what is possible with a little  - or a lot - of work. A few dreams. And a lot of planning.

We have one brief little firecracker of a life, and it is over in an instant. It's a shame to not push it to its limits.
So, Violet Dear, are you up for it? Making change and doing big-ass things in this world is hard.  It's fucking hard. But it is possible. Everything is.

Just ask Paul.

Goodbye Asia - and Thank You.

Our very first day on this trip, over one year ago - jetlagged and haggard in Bangkok.

It seems strange but fitting that here I am spending my last night in Asia eating some slightly soft gouda cheese and watching The 400 Blows, two very decidedly Un-Asia things to be doing as I try to ease myself back into the West. I am on a Cebu Pacific flight from Manila to Kuala Lumpur where I will spend the night before flying to Melbourne tomorrow afternoon, and as the gouda hits the bitter umami area of my tongue and the film mesmerizes me as Truffaut always does I am numb. It doesn't feel real.

I landed in Bangkok on October 4^th 2008 with a stick (that I did not know was there) firmly up my caboose, 25 extra pounds of doughy flab around my midsection and a brain full of stress and trivial matters. After a year of backpacking and living in Asia I have none of those things.

What I do have is a changed life.

I go back to the West with memories and experiences that no one can ever take away from me. I snorkeled in the Maldives and trekked in Nepal. I karaoked in Vietnam, climbed ancient ruins in Cambodia and gave alms to monks in Laos. I volunteered with animals in Thailand and slept at a monastery in Burma. I ate my face off in Singapore and Hong Kong and saw a real live Orang Utan in Malaysia. I survived two typhoons in Philippines, heard the haunting call to prayer in Brunei and lazed on an idyllic tropical island in Indonesia. I freakin' lived in India, for Shiva's sake. How could all of these things not change a person?

I was scared, ecstatic, sad, empathetic, apathetic, overjoyed, hot, frustrated and excited. I rode in contraptions and vehicles that make a simple Thai tuk-tuk look like a limo, I ate things that should have made me sick and once I did get sick, like dysentery sick - from Israeli food in Goa. I walked around in a daze after landing in the topsy turvy land of Delhi and then walked around in a daze 6 months later in the shiny meccas of consumerism dotted around Bangkok's Siam Square. All manner of noises - LOUD chatty Karnatakans, confused roosters, a mosque's loudspeakers, fornicating geckos and pigs being slaughtered to name a few – have kept me awake. I slept on bug and mice infested trains, used toilets that would make a Calcutta beggar wince and politely endured the endless barrage of questions from people very curious about me and S. (No, for the record, this is not my natural haircolour and no, I do not bleach my skin.)

We donated money to roof a monastery in Thailand, by putting our names on one tile we ensured that we would be together in Thai afterlife.

I cried over sick dogs (and discovered a trick in poor countries with no pet food: crack some eggs on the sidewalk for them). I cried over begging children and yet refused to condone the act by giving money, in principle at least – I broke down more than a few times. I cried great hitching sobs of fear when S was in Mumbai for the terrorist attacks and I was trapped in the North. I cried over unjust governments oppressing their people – the Tibetan population in India and the sweet people of Burma. I cried for personal reasons too – this year we lost S's beloved Grandma (she was 98 years old and fought til the end) and my best friend's brother – there were many, many tears when I went home for the funeral. Sometimes there still are.

But I laughed too – man, did I laugh. I laughed when my Mum got gored (only a little) by an angry bull in Rishikesh, when S got the worst haircut ever (no, I am not kidding) in Mumbai and when Gia sold me that amazing anklet. I howled at the Moustache Brothers in Mandalay, at the unintentionally hilarious Engrish posted everywhere and at the epic 1970's Ramayana on Indian TV. I laughed at myself a lot, at S even more and loads and loads when Bran, Willie and Alexis all visited.

I learned. I learned to relax and give up and let it go. Asia taught me patience, to be laid back and that a smile is the most important weapon you can brandish to win favour and friends. I learned how to make a momo, how to best eat a whole fish with just chopsticks and how to take apart an entire crab without a cracker, using just my fingers and teeth. I learned that most people can be trusted and that your gut will tell you who cannot, and most importantly I learned how to say “Thank You” in 10 new languages. I used that a lot.

It's crazy – Asia is life in real time. Colours are more vibrant here, flavours more piquant and fresh, noises are louder and everything is so in the moment that even the most cautious person turns fatalistic – and I can't believe that it is over! This wasn't my first time to Asia, and I will come back again and again, but will it feel the same? Will there be that same sense of freedom and adventure and let's face it, awe and pride in myself for taking a year to travel and fulfilling my dreams? Will I throw caution to the wind and just dive in and live, really live life so freely? I really hope so.

************

S has left Manila on a different flight – he is headed to LA to work and after I visit Australia and Fiji I will join him there. He is bidding goodbye not only to Asia but to this amazing year of travel. While I know he is ready for home and a break he too had tears in his eyes as we reminisced about it all.

I keep thinking about that first night when we landed in Bangkok. I looked at him over our first Chang beers and asked “What do you think we'll feel a year from now when we are going home?” Neither of us could fathom it – it seemed so far, so abstract in nature. He shrugged.

“Only time will tell, I guess.”

It has. It's said a lot.

From Thailand to the Philippines: the most recent photo of us, taken in Vigan.

A Little Q&A (no T&A)

"I'm ready for my close up, Mr DeMille....wait, Mr De Mille? Come back! I thought you wanted to take my pic....oh nevermind. Who's got a poutine?"

A few weeks ago I posted an entry asking if people had “Any Questions?” Here are the questions I received and my answers. Cheers!

How do you afford this mammoth trip? Is S a millionaire?
-Dolly Daydream

Both S and I saved a ton of money – really dedicated ourselves to scrimping and pinchng and socking huge amounts of dosh away. S does make a great living (and was paid a handsome consulting fee while he working in India) but I'm not too shabby myself! I find it interesting that that wasn't your first conclusion – the old patriarchal instinct has kicked in! :) So far I have cashed some of my savings but I look forward to returning home with more than half still in the bank – along with a zero credit card balance (so important for a variety of reasons – I hate being taken advantage of!)

We also travel on a tight budget of no more than thirty Canadian dollars per person per day (flights not included) and this really helps to stretch the money we do have – extravagances do happen, but we try to keep them in check as much as possible!

How do you manage to travel without working? Do you work online?

-kanmuri

Other than blogging my heart out and making a few bucks from Google adsense, I have not worked one iota since September 30 of last year. If someone wants to pay me I would glady accept an assignment! S did work as a consultant in India (for visual effects on Bollywood movies – he had a hand in “Chandni Chowk to China”) for 2.5 months – this is when we lived in Mumbai (and yes, it was during the attacks.)

The picture from your title area - did you take that? It instantly conjures images of faraway places, shimmering sand and hot mystical nights!

-Rainysoul

I did take this photo – I am glad you like it! It was taken on a sand dune just outside of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan while we were waiting for the sun to set while on a camel safari. In reality it was a bit less idyllic than it seems – they were singing and dancing and begging for money – if we didn't give them any they would launch back into their repetitive song! It will haunt my brain forever..... Here are a few more!

I was wondering why you cuss a lot in your posts?

-Kristin

Well, to be honest – I swear in person and in my quest to always keep my blog as true to my actual personality I just write what comes to mind, in the way that it comes to mind. Sometimes it is really important to the feel of the piece – for instance when I am really upset or angry about something – ie: Burmese politics or suicide – I feel that they are more than warranted.

I did a search of my own blog and could only find the eff word 4 times in fifty posts – pretty good, I'd say! I do use euphemisms (such as eff or f%#@) quite often as well, but those hardly count....do they? :)

Lastly, I just really like to swear.

Where have you been that has been your most worthwhile, absolute best trip, and why?

-Chymere

That is so, so hard to say. Part of me actually wants to say that it was the 6 week trip I took by myself to Eastern Europe when I was 22 – I went to Poland, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria and Hungary. That journey really had a profound effect on me – it wasn't my first trip to Europe, but it was my first time traveling alone and with a really good plan. I learned so much about Europe, myself and well...myself! I highly recommend that everyone takes a trip on their own at least once.

As for this trip to Asia (does an entire year count as one trip?) I would say that India, though I often hated it when I was there, was the most important place we visited. It is hard, it is full on and it is stinky – and it is wonderful.

An old alter ego - thanks to Pappa Jay for the artiness.

How did your pen name Violet Dear come about?

-Marilee in Portland Oregon

I have been using pen names and psuedonyms since I began writing as a young teenager. Originally I wanted to at least partially control my identity amongst the people that I know - bosses, colleagues, unwanted aquaintances, crazies - but that went out the window when I was chosen as Blog of Note!

As I wanted to remain at least partially anonymous on this site I chose to write under the name Violet Dear. Some of my previous pen-names have been: Violent Violet, Violet Femme, and Ultra Violet – I like Violet Dear because it is feasibly a real name and is less crazy and wild than the names I chose when I was younger. To be very honest Violet, dear (their comma) was also the name of a limited edition MAC eyeshadow that I purchased when I was about nineteen – it always stuck with me. (I am also getting a tattoo of the word "Violet" when I am in Melbourne - it means a lot to me!)

I love your practical tips. I am traveling to India, Thailand, Laos and Japan - can you recommend a visa company or would you just do it yourself?
-Stephanie C

Thanks! I always try to add a little practical info because it can be sorely lacking online... For the visas, if you live in a city with an Indian consulate than it is very easy – just pop down in person and you should be able to come back in a few business days to pick yours up. I really recommend paying a bit extra and grabbing the multiple entry one year visa – plans can change and this is a great way to avoid headaches later (for instance, the Bangkok Indian consulate is supposed to be a nightmare.) Your Indian visa is activated from the day it is issued, so make sure you have enough time – you might want to get it issued close to the date you depart.

Thailand, Laos and Japan – visas are issued on arrival at most borders. For Thailand, if you arrive by air you will be issued a 30 day visa, but by land it is only 14 days – don't get caught out. Hopping across the border to Cambodia (I recommend Angkor Wat wholeheartedly) Laos or Myanmar for a visa run is common and easy – and with Air Asia's cheapest deals even flying to S'pore, Malaysia or elsewhere is also feasible. Laos is a 30 day visa – I belive you can get more (and a prettier visa) by applying in advance – but for most people this is enough. Japan – I have little clue, as I have never been! Your trip sounds great – let me know if you have any other questions along the way!

How much money would you recommend for 5 weeks in India?
- Master Kevin

It is really up to you! You can spend from 10 USD/day all the way up to hundreds. For us, on a slightly higher than average backpacker lifestyle (ie: no dirty rooms, second class trains and nice restaurants sometimes) we found that 25USD/day was more than enough. Some days we went over, and some days under – it balanced out. If you are traveling by yourself than you will probably have to add another 10 bucks to your budget.

I was wondering what do you do when you aren't travelling?[:)]

-Nikki

Before I started traveling on this trip I worked as a consultant for a major travel company in Canada - my bonuses really helped us save money for this trip! When I get home I will be heading back to University - and traveling as often as a can to keep you guys entertained!

That's all guys - if you have any other questions for me feel free to ask - I can always do this again sometime. Cheers!

xoxo

Violet Dear

Inspiring Travels - An Interview with Travelfish.org's Stuart McDonald

While trying to navigate the myriad guidebooks for SE Asia S and I were lucky enough to have travelfish.org recommended to us by a friend. Travelfish is a godsend for independent travelers who want accurate, interesting and thorough reviews that are also - gasp - up to date. Possibly the most important tool that we used for our year in Asia - can you tell that I love it?

I had a ton of questions that I was dying to ask founder Stuart McDonald and I figured that you guys might like to hear 'em as well!

What gave you the idea for Travelfish, and how did you begin to execute it?
I had written guidebooks to Vietnam in '94/95 and Thailand in '96/97 so that gave me some grounding in what it was about. After a few years working in Bangkok, Samantha and I threw around various ideas as I wanted to get back out of the office and travelling again. I had taught myself web design at one of the Bangkok jobs and so we brought that and the travel writing together to create the idea behind Travelfish.

At the time it was just a few scratchings of pen to paper -- very, very broad strokes -- but the central tenet was to take advantage of the internet to get good travel information out there for travellers to use. The idea has developed a lot since then, particularly with regard to our very successful Travelfish Guides, but the main idea is still the same: helping travellers get the most out of their trip to Southeast Asia.

At the start, execution involved really just me -- I coded the site from scratch and did all the research. Sam kept a full time job and I maintained a consultancy I had. We started very slowly, just covering a couple of places we really liked, but it has been over five years now and the site has expanded dramatically.

It obviously left a good impression on you – where was your first trip to Asia, and how did it go?
Thailand was an after-thought on my first solo trip away. I had a round-the-world ticket ex-Australia to the US, Europe, India and Thailand. India was the focus for me, but in the end I had a pretty hard time there, and Thailand turned out to be the classic "Eastern" experience I had been looking for. That was in 1993 and I've been returning ever since. My first Thai sojourn was a pretty typical jaunt -- partying on Khao San Road, trekking in Chiang Mai, lazing on Ko Pha Ngan and Ko Phi Phi, taking 10B tuk tuks in Bangkok and getting shuffled through dodgy gem stores -- generally all the things I now tell people to skip!

At the time, information was more limited. Sure, there were guidebooks -- and I'd say the books on Thailand at the time, the blue Lonely Planet and Carl Parke's book for Moon, were easily the last good guidebooks to the country -- but generally you didn't see the same degree of trip-planning and research that you do today. It was more of a "choose your own adventure" thing.

There is a dearth of information online for Indonesia, Philippines and Myanmar (not to mention India). Any plans to start covering these destinations?
We won't be covering Burma as a destination, though we do have a Burma section on the messageboard that has some very knowledgeable people posting to it. We live in Indonesia and may be making an announcement about this in the coming months. I've never been to the Philippines, so if we were to look at expanding to there, I guess I'd have to do a few trips up there to have a look around first! India -- ahhh that definitely falls into the "way too much to chew" department. IndiaMike.com does a pretty good job on it.

Could Travelfish become global, or do you see it staying solely in Southeast Asia?
That's a good question, but I think one of the appeals of Travelfish is that we cover just one part of the world, and cover it well. We could hardly write with any authority or experience on travel through Chad, Peru or Portugal and while I think there are a lot of of websites out there that are trying to take a global view of things, there are none that I would say are doing it successfully from the reader's point of view. Six or seven countries home to a few hundred million people is enough to keep me busy.

Stuart catching a boat with a cow in Champassak.

Which travel blogs do you read?
Well Madness and Beauty for starters! Food is an integral part of the Asian experience and one of the best places to start are the food blogs -- not only will you get an inside angle on what to eat, you'll probably learn oodles about the country and culture as well. Austin Bush's food blog is Thai focused, but probably the best in the region. For Malaysia, Eating Asia by Robyn Eckhardt is excellent, while for Vietnam look no further than Sticky Rice. Cambodia Phnomenon is where it is at for that corner of the world. While not food blogs, Lao Bumpkin and Lao Miao are very useful for facts on the ground and "off the map" travel.

Some non-food blogs:
http://thelunaticexpress.com/ (I admire that this terrific idea was undertaken with so little noise online)
http://www.ephemerratic.com/ (their Asia stuff is very good)
http://itinerantlondoner.wordpress.com/ (good writing and pics)
http://primitiveculture.blogspot.com/ (good writing and pics -- disclosure: this author used to work for us)
http://nomadic-tendencies.blogspot.com/ (not so much to read but to look at)

A side note about personal travel blogs, is there's often a tendancy for the writers, as they develop a wider readership, to get waylaid trying to cook up an earning out of the blog. While I certainly understand the desire to make a bit of dosh on the side, I think it's an unfortunate distraction and often adversely affects the blog as it switches from good interesting writing to a more "Top 10 things to pack for whatever" style -- often with little more than a nominal reward for the writer.

Given the internet's obvious strengths for planning, do you think that the travelfish model will force the big travel companies to re-evaluate their way of doing things?
I think the big travel publishers are already re-evaluating how things get done, but not always in ways that improve the product for the traveller. Yes the internet can be a very handy tool for planning, but as I said in an open letter published over on Matador, the internet isn't infallible and the best info is often gathered by talking to a traveller who has just been where you want to go.

The big publishers often use a team of writers from outside the region, who all fly in and cover the country in as quick a time as possible (they're mostly paid a set fee so it pays to do the ground work asap to keep costs down). The information is then boiled down, edited and published perhaps nine months to a year after they were there. This is a broken model and should be changed. They could take advantage of the internet and a wider variety of locally-based authors/researchers to put the product together -- it would be faster and certainly more accurate and you'd no longer have researchers put in the position where they have six weeks to cover Indonesia. Is this going to happen? Probably not.

Lonely Planet has been doing some interesting things with its BlogSherpa program, but not all are satisfied with it from a blogger's point of view, and, well, a lot of the writing isn't too hot. I think they'd be better off having their writers creating this content to retain a more professional angle.

I don't subscribe to the idea that the internet will kill guidebooks. People will always need them -- and (thankfully) the internet isn't everywhere. And who wants to throw their Toshiba notebook at the rat chewing through their pack -- that's what a guidebook is for!

What are the site's statistics in terms of contributors and visitors?
Travelfish at the moment has six paid researchers in the field. It varies depending on what is going on -- we've had as many as 12 and as few as one. All live in the region and most have other jobs (which is why the number fluctuates month to month). Site-wise we do around 1.5 million page impressions a month via around a quarter of a million unique users.

Are people using travelfish over the big name guidebooks?
Most are using both. Some are using just Travelfish. We don't see Travelfish as a replacement for your guidebook -- rather as complement. We cover places that no other guidebook does, so for those who really want to get off the beaten track, Travelfish can be especially useful. Researchers for Lonely Planet and Rough Guides use Travelfish, so that's a good sign I guess!

You have traveled extensively in Asia. Any new destinations that you're dying to visit?
I'm just about to start doing regular exploratory trips in Indonesia, which I'm very excited about -- heading to Southern Sulawesi next week. While we've been living here for a few years, we've also just had two children and they're now getting old enough (one and nearly three) that I'm more comfortable taking longer trips away from them. So I've got a lot of travel in Indonesia planned.

What is your number one piece of advice for first-timers to Southeast Asia?
Less is more. Planning a trip is like packing a bag. When you're packing, lay everything you want to take out on the bed -- then put half of it back in your cupboard. The same goes for route-planning. Plan out an itinerary then cut half the destinations (or ask the boss for more time off!) so that you can spend more time in each place. Southeast Asia doesn't lend itself well to whistlestop tours.

You are a long term expat. Do you think you'll ever move back to the West?
My answer depends on whether my Mum is going to read this! I think we've probably got another 6 years or so in Indoneisa before we need to make a serious decision about our kids' schooling -- at this stage that is what would take us back to Australia.

What is your absolute favourite Southeast Asian city, and why?
Phnom Penh. We lived there for two years a few years ago and it really struck a chord with me -- as did Cambodia as a whole. For a place so wracked by pain and suffering the people are an amazing lesson in human spirit. I found it a fascinating place to live, though very depressing in some ways -- especially regarding how the city is being developed. There was something about just sitting around on the riverfront that will always stay with me. I also asked Sam to marry me there -- that counts for something!

A Beer Lao in Attapeu.

I am a dyed-in-the-wool foodie when traveling. What is your top priority when you visit a country?
Eat, eat and eat some more. But I also like to get the lay of the land -- just to take a wander around wherever I'm staying helps to get a feel for the place -- if there is waterfront -- be it river or sea, I'll spend some time down there. It's always interesting to see how others relax.

As I am a foodie, I need to know – what has been your most memorable meal in Asia?
The one dish I wish we had ordered was "Black Male in Ash", listed on a menu in Lak Sao in Laos. The best I ate was in the Mekong Delta on my first trip there (1994). My travel companion and I took a frieghter from My Tho up to Chau Doc on the Cambodian border. Late in the afternoon, the boat stopped at a fish farm-like thing -- it was really just a floating deck that had an absolutely massive wok with boiling oil on it. They caught the fish and they went straight off the hook and into the oil -- they didn't ever touch the ground -- a matter of minutes later we had these steaming clunks of fish with condiments and a batch of cold beer. With the sunset coming and the constant drumming of the Mekong, I'll never forget it.

When writing a guide for a city and researching all of the nitty gritty details is it possible to still relax and enjoy the destination, or is it more like a business trip?
Well it certainly takes some of the pleasure out of it. But at the same time you get to do stuff you may not otherwise have bothered to do -- there is an upside and a downside to this kind of work. I tend to pace myself, so if I allow a week for a city I'll be working half the day and then doing my own thing (which may or may not double as research) the other half. I tend to eat dinner then write-up the day's work, then do bar research -- not the other way around!

Finally, for all of my readers who haven't used travelfish, why should they start? (shameless self-promotion is allowed...)

If you're looking to get off the beaten track in Southeast Asia, Travelfish is, simply, the biggest repository of independently researched information online. We've got more than 4,000 anonymously reviewed places to stay across around 400 destinations in six countries. The forum contains a wealth of travel planning advice -- from myself, other Travelfish researchers and travellers and expats. And best of all, it's free. There are PDF guidebooks you can buy (or even Travelfish T-shirts!) but just about everything you need is available on the site 100% free. Travelfish has also launched an application for iPhones - check it out here!

Well sold, Stuart! Thanks again for the interview.

Stuart, pictured with partner Sam (who is also an integral part of travelfish)

(Stuart previously lived in Thailand and Cambodia for around eight years between them, where he worked as an under-paid, under-skilled language teacher, an embassy staffer, a newspaper web-site developer and various other stuff. Before all those non-travel jobs he authored two travel guides, one to Vietnam and one to Thailand. He still spends a lot of time travelling and can sleep anywhere, anytime - even on the road to Bokor. His favourite read is The Art of Travel by Alain de Botton. He lives in Bali, Indonesia.)

Inspiring Travels - An Interview with Brook Silva Braga

About two months before embarking on this trip I was in the travel clinic, ativan-ed up (fear of needles, says the girl with all the tattoos...) and reading a travel magazine to pass the antsy minutes. I found an article that really caught my interest and learned about Brook Silva Braga, documentary film maker (A Map for Saturday and One Day in Africa) and an inspiration to all of us travelers who want to learn how to make a living from traversing the globe (and who don't fancy writing Lonely Planet guides.)  S and I sent away for his first documentary that week and when it arrived we tore into the package and watched the DVD right away. With tears running down our faces (well, mine) we knew that this year away was going to be amazing. A Map For Saturday is a must-see for anyone planning to (or even just dreaming about) travel for an extended period of time.

Brook took time out from promoting his newest film, One Day in Africa and was kind enough to answer the following questions for me.

1)Was there a moment or incident that served as a catalyst to travel seriously?

Hey, Violet, thanks for the questions. After college I worked for HBO and they sent me to the Philippines for a story.  I decided to spend a few days in Thailand on the way home but then I met this community of backpackers that I hadn't really been aware and a few days turned into two weeks. I joined up with Bill and Paul who had left Belfast for a yearlong trip and when I finally went home I kept thinking how they were still traveling. A few months later I booked my ticket.

2) If you could give a novice backpacker one piece of advice, what would it be?
Don't sweat the small stuff. There's an endless list of things that are useful--padlocks and mini-lights, guidebooks and hostel searches--but really your passport and bank card are the only essentials. And I've never met anyone who regretted going on a trip. 

3) What are 3 backpacking essentials you always carry with you?
Well I've just contradicted the idea of essentials but some things I've found surprisingly useful include: pajama pants, a wiremesh bag from PacSafe for storing valuables, and a mini-flashlight (which I never bring but always wish I had). 

4) Tell me a little bit about your new project, One Day in Africa.
'One Day in Africa' is my second documentary though it's not exactly a follow-up to 'A Map for Saturday' because its about locals rather than travelers. It profiles six people I met during a five month trip through Africa, following each of them for a single day. They all come from different countries and backgrounds and hopefully give a different picture of the continent than we usually see in the west. The DVD just went on pre-sale this week.  

5)Did you take a camera and equipment on your recent trip to China, and if so did you experience any hassle with the local authorities?
 I did bring my camera with me and for a while I was very careful about keeping a low profile. But I overestimated the practical restrictions on shooting there, I was never hassled anywhere but Tienanmen Square where they asked to see my passport but didn't stop me from shooting. China is a terribly complicated place when it comes to stuff like that and hopefully some of that will come through when I finally put something together about China.  

6)I suffer from a need to document and photograph all of my experiences for my writing. Do you have the same compulsion, and if so do you think it impedes the ability to just enjoy travel?
Yeah, that's a tricky one. I try not to let that take over my trip but it can be hard, especially because I genuinely enjoy documenting things. Probably because of that I've become a fan of beautiful things you can't really photograph--almost anything at night is a good example. I like the idea that you only get to see it, you don't get to capture it for later.  

7)Which, if any, travel blogs do you read?
I'm a blog-skimmer and usually just for a few weeks when someone I know is out on the road. I actually find it hard to read about other peoples travels because it just makes me jealous. I'm very lucky so many people have been willing to watch mine.  

8) Do you cave in and just eat pizza sometimes?
Very rarely. I don't get much of a kick from famous attractions anymore but one part of travel that never gets old for me is the food. I'm amazed that something as simple as bread can be so good in France and then so mediocre after a two-hour drive into Spain. So I'm happy to eat noodle soup everyday in China because I won't be eating it when I leave. Plus, "pizza" is never really on the menu when you're traveling; they may call it "pizza" but what they actually serve isn't the thing I'm craving. Real pizza is waiting back here in New York and I just had some of the world's best pizza last night at a place called Di Fara in Brooklyn.

9) Do you have some basic advice on how to turn a love of travel into a career?
That is a very hard one for me to answer because I've stumbled into that in a way that would be very hard to repeat. I think its important not to be thinking of money when you start your film or book or whatever because you probably won't make any. There should be another reason you're doing it. One way to make the lifestyle work is to live more cheaply and start with some savings so you don't have to turn your project into money right away. In the internet age there's a lot of stuff you can do from a laptop anywhere in the world so your job doesn't have to be "travel" to let you travel while you work.

10) What is your favourite travel story/anecdote?
Man you are full of hard questions, Ms. Violet! Well one thing I like is when I get to go somewhere bascially because I have the camera, like it gives me an excuse to speak with someone that otherwise I wouldn't have a reason to spend time with. So when I was in Malawi for 'One Day in Africa' I was trying to follow a woman on the day she gave birth. But its really hard to know when that day will be so I started hanging out with Bridgete and waiting for the day to come, which meant I got to live with this Malawian family for a while. Just hanging out in their living room or playing with their daughter was as cool a travel experience as any "sight" I've been to.  

11) I am almost at the end of this trip. Do you have any advice for people returning to "the real world?"
Yeah, first off accept the fact that it will be the worst part of your trip. I know lots and lots of people who came home from their travels and just sat around bored and sad for years! So come up with something you'll do next and really make it happen, don't just sit on your parents couch and wait to hear back about one of the resumes you sent out.  

12) Finally, who throws the best traveling parties? Frat/bodhi guys or hippies? :)
Oh, no, no the best parties don't come from some travel click--that's the whole point of a good travel party. They're everyone's party and no ones party all at once. But they sure seem to take place on the beach a lot.

Brook Silva-Braga was born in Portsmouth, RI. He earned a journalism degree at New York University in 2001 and an Emmy the next year as a sports producer for HBO. He quit network television to travel the world and make A MAP FOR SATURDAY (2007), which was acquired by MTV and National Geographic Channel. After further adventures in journalism he hit the road for a second documentary, ONE DAY IN AFRICA (2009).